'Heretic' and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but 'Venom: The Last Dance' tops box office again

NEW YORK (AP) -- For the third weekend in a row, "Venom: The Last Dance" was the No. 1 movie at the box office, collecting $16.2 million in ticket sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters. Studio estimates released Sunday show "Venom" fended off a pair of new challengers in the Hugh Grant horror thriller "Heretic" and the feel-good holiday movie "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." "Heretic" debuted with $11 million, a good start for the modestly budgeted A24 release. "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" factored in $2.2 million in sneak-peak screenings from last weekend to claim a reported opening gross of $11.1 million. Overall ticket sales, however, remain sluggish.